New Samurai
by hopesinvelvet
Summary: Kachi Sato was a woman of samurai descent that dreamed of one day being a respected warrior, but because of her gender, she has never been taken seriously by anybody but her own soldiers. After her family's dojo is raided and destroyed by rogue samurai, she seeks out a new home in the Shinsengumi. Can she prove herself to be a respectable warrior?
1. Chapter 1

The fire.

The screams.

The loss.

The memories of her family's dojo burning down still haunted her every waking moment. She was entrusted with an ancient dojo that had been in her family since the way of the samurai was coined and she lost it to the rogue samurai, whom the word "nationalist" is wasted on. Many of the men were killed, but some did survive, only for her to see them off to new dojos around Japan before she set off on her own journey to find a new one to call her home. Many of them rejected her simply because she was a woman; "women should not be warriors" they would say before casting her out. They never gave her opportunities to prove her worth in combat; she had mastered a couple of different weapons and techniques, but it meant nothing to the samurai men.

It had been two years since the dojo was burnt down and a year since she had started her own journey around Japan to find herself a new home; she had arrived in the capital, Kyoto. This city was ridden with rogue samurai that loved using their samurai status to take what they wished from innocent civilians, showing that they were unfit to wear the title of a warrior, in her own opinion. She had heard that this city was the stomping ground for the Shinsengumi, a clan of ruthless warriors, some of whom were not born into a samurai bloodline, which made almost all of the "real" samurai hate them. Given that this clan of samurai warriors was heavily judged a discredited, surely they wouldn't be in a position to judge her the same way, right? There was only one way for her a find out: she had to go to the Shinsengumi headquarters and meet with the commander and vice commander. As she approached the gate, a small group of the warriors were being lead out, assumedly to go on patrol. The group stopped in their tracks and the captain of the group looked her up and down.

"Not exactly a conventional outfit for a woman." He said, with a smile on his face. She ignored the remark and bowed politely.

"I am Kachi Sato, formerly a commander of a dojo that once housed many soldiers. I would like to speak to your commander and vice commander, if you don't mind." The group of men looked a little surprised, but the smile returned to the captain's face.

"I'm Souji Okita. I'll take you to 'em, the rest of you guys go on ahead; I'll catch up." The team obeyed Souji's command and went on ahead. After the team left, he gestured for her to follow him. As she was guided through, she looked around, focusing on the groups that were training; she was in awe at how focused and skilled the soldiers were – truly admirable.

"Hey, Hijikata, Kondou, there's a girl here to see you." Souji said as he stopped outside one of the buildings. There was a brief pause before she got the OK to go in. She entered the room and took her place opposite the two commanders.

"What business do you have here?" One said, wearing a cold, emotionless expression. If he was always like this, if she got accepted by them, she would be avoiding him at all costs.

"I am Kachi Sato, formerly a commander of an ancient dojo. I have come requesting assistance." She stated, bowing for them. The other commander's brow furrowed while the stone-faced one remained stone-faced.

"I am Isami Kondou, the commander of the Shinsengumi and this is Hijikata Toshizo, the vice commander. What do you need from us?" Kondou seemed much friendlier and approachable than Hijikata, whom was still remaining stone-faced.

"Two years ago, my family dojo was burned down by rogue samurai and I spent a year afterwards finding the men that survived new dojos to call their homes."

"But what have you spent the last year doing?" Hijikata chimed in, still with an emotionless expression plastered onto his face.

"Searching for a dojo that I can fit into. I have been rejected by all the other ones I have been to simply for my gender."

"And what makes you think we are going to be any different?" The more the vice commander talked, the less she liked him. His emotionless expression and his stern way of talking made him intimidating.

"The Shinsengumi is not just comprised of people of samurai descent and for that, you are ridiculed by the ones that consider themselves to be "real" samurai. I would expect much more understanding from you." The pair looked slightly surprised at her words, but her boldness was admirable.

"Hm…are you any good with a sword?" Kondou asked, sounding like he was seriously considering letting her join this clan.

"Yes. I've been trained with a short sword since a young age in my family's dojo." Kondou nodded, clearly having a deep think about whether or not he wanted to add her into the clan. Hijikata and Kachi watched him as the cogs in his head turned, piecing together his thoughts. She didn't keep her hopes up, not after all the other clans that rejected her prior to this.

"I guess one more soldier can only be considered a good thing, so I don't see why you staying would be a problem." The commander lilted with a smile. She looked at him with pleasant surprise, while the vice commander looked at him with shock and displeasure. "You'll have to prove yourself by duelling with Hajime Saitou. If you need to work on anything, we'll be happy to train you." Hijikata heaved a sigh ad directed his sight back to Kachi.

"If you are to stay, then you must go find Saitou and ask him to test your abilities. You will find him duelling in the courtyard." She fought back a smile in order to keep up her professional appearance and bowed to the two men.

"Thank you. I will do everything I can to prove my worth to you." And with that, she got up and left the building to find Hajime Saitou. The Shinsengumi headquarters was much more organised and friendlier looking than her old dojo, not to mention considerably bigger. She passed by groups training vigorously and stopped in tracks when she spotted a duelling pair in the courtyard; it was only safe to assume that one of those men was Hajime Saitou. The pair's swords were moving quickly, slicing through the air. The pair looked evenly matched until one managed to disarm the other, launching his sword into the ground a couple of feet away from Kachi. The one that was disarmed let out a laugh before her presence caught his attention.

"Oh, what brings a pretty girl like you to a place like this?" Her eyebrows raised, but she decided to disregard the comment.

"Is one of you Hajime Saitou?" The flirtatious one looked surprised for a moment before winking, nudging the other man and grabbing his weapon, promptly taking his leave. The one remaining, assumedly Hajime Saitou, let out a sigh and put his sword away as he walked towards her.

"I am Hajime Saitou, and you are?" His voice was quiet and his demeanour was extremely calm – characteristics she rarely saw in a samurai. She bowed to him.

"I am Kachi Sato, I was told by commander Kondou and vice commander Hijikata to duel with you in order to prove my worth here." His expression didn't alter, he simply nodded.

"Okay, draw your sword." No questions? Not even one? The lack of questions was surprising to her, but he didn't seem to be the talkative type, so maybe it wasn't too surprising. She drew her sword and got into position; she hadn't been in a real sword fight for a long time and was probably out of practice, but it was worth a shot. Saitou drew his own sword and got into position too. "If you're worried about killing me, you can hit me with the back of your sword. Don't hold back." She nodded once and focused on Saitou. She made the first move, charging toward him and swinging her sword; he blocked the blow with his own sword while she delivered a kick to his abdomen, knocking him down. It was safe to say that Saitou was surprised by her move, but it didn't get to him. He quickly got to his feet and lunged at her, bringing his sword down from above, but his move was blocked; he quickly moved his sword back and swung it in from the side – she blocked that move, too. He promptly kicked her in the abdomen, knocking her to floor; she looked up at Saitou and saw him about to bring his sword down onto her again, causing her eyes to widen and for her to roll out of the way. When she regained sight of him, she kicked his sword out of his hand and they watched it as it landed several feet away. She got to her feet again – a warrior was vulnerable if they remained on the ground in front of their foe. Her gaze landed on Saitou, whom was still looking at his weapon with evident surprise. Was she a great swordsman or was he just terrible? She couldn't tell. He collected his sword and put it away before returning to her with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"You show a lot of promise as a warrior. I'll inform Hijikata and Kondou of what happened. For now, I will leave you to explore the grounds for yourself." And with that, he left her alone. With a smile on her face, she put her sword away. It had been a long time since she felt like she was welcome anywhere and she was glad that she was being welcomed by the Shinsengumi. She had heard of the Shinsengumi and how they handled the rogue samurai, protecting the innocent civilians in Kyoto from them. They were great warriors and she wanted to live up the expectations they had for her.

She sauntered off to look around, attempting to learn the layout of the grounds. While she was wandering around, three men caught sight of her; she knew one as the man that was duelling with Saitou earlier.

"Hey, who's that?" One asked loudly, causing her gaze to turn to them. They didn't seem like an intimidating trio, so she approached them without giving it too much thought. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kachi Sato. I was formerly a commander of a dojo that had been passed through my family for generations." She had gotten sick of introducing herself to everybody as a former member of an ancient dojo a long time ago – she was looking forward to introducing herself as a member of the Shinsengumi.

"Formerly, huh? Well, I'm Shinpachi Nagakura, the one that was sparring with Saitou before. I've never seen a female samurai before." He said with a slightly flirtatious smile. She was being considered a samurai? Even amongst her own soldiers, she wasn't considered to be a true samurai because of her gender, but she was greatly respected by them.

"Yeah, neither have I. And I would ever have dreamed of her being so pretty. I'm Sanosuke Harada, by the way. If you ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know." He said with a smile and a wink. She had grown used to men behaving like this toward her, so she developed a habit of thinking absolutely nothing of it.

"Yeah, right, Harada. I'm Heisuke Toudou. If you ever need anything, don't go running to that guy, come ask me, 'kay?" Heisuke didn't have that slightly predator-like vibe about him, he was just being very obviously friendly. "So what brings you here?" He asked, patting a place next to him as a gesture for her to sit down; she took her place next to him.

"My family's dojo was raided and burnt down a couple of years ago. After I helped relocate all the men that survived, I started looking for my own place to go. None of the other clans wanted to accept me because I'm a woman, so you guys, the Shinsengumi, were my last hope." The three men all nodded in understanding. Her hopes of being accepted by them were raising themselves; they seemed to understand her more than the other clans did.

"You know, it's awfully noble of you to relocate the soldiers you trained before yourself. I bet you were a great leader." Harada commented. She had never thought it a noble move, only something any real leader would do for their me. "I bet you would've had to rule over those guys with an iron fist, too. You know how men are."

"Actually, the fear in them was more like the fear a husband has of his wife; he respects her highly and is relaxed around her, but he doesn't dare get on the wrong side of her." The trio chuckled.

"If that's true, I'd hate to get on your bad side." Shinpachi chuckled. "You know, if you want to stay here, they're probably going to make you help out with cooking and cleaning. I hope you're good at those things."

"I cooked for my patrol group at the end of a night in the old dojo and we all had our own buildings to keep clean just so no one felt like they were being treated as our dog." The trio seemed happy with her response; they knew they weren't going to be poisoned. Before they knew it, Saitou had managed to locate her again. She was hopeful that he was going to bring her good news.

"Kachi, Hijikata wanted me to give you the news. He's allowing you to stay on the condition that help out when you're asked. Is that understood?" She grinned widely alongside the trio of men and nodded happily.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you so much. I'll do everything I can to be of use to you all."

"Congratulations, Kachi. Welcome to the Shinsengumi."


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of months had passed by, she had learned the names of the core members of the Shinsengumi and was almost done learning the names of the other soldiers. She had spent most of her time training and doing the jobs she was assigned in order to repay them for allowing her to stay, but she was never allowed to go on patrol with the others; it was safe to assume that they were just being cautious and figuring out whether or not they could really trust her. On the plus side, it was nice for her to feel welcomed and accepted again after so long; she was once again surrounded by people she felt like she could trust.

Early one morning, she was sweeping outside of the room they had let her accommodate when she was approached Hijikata. He was a good looking man that appeared to watch out for everybody, even Kachi, but he seemed to keep everyone at arm's length; judging from how the core members of the Shinsengumi interacted with him, it hadn't always been like that.

"Kachi, do you have a moment?" His tone constantly sounded stern, but he probably couldn't help that – that was just how he sounded. She stopped sweeping and nodded.

"Over the couple of months you've been here, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy. I'd like you to start going out on patrols with the others. You're a well-rounded soldier that shouldn't be tied down to a lower position in a team, so you will be designated a time slot rather than a team." She couldn't fight back the smile that stretched across her face; she had been waiting to be given a sign that she was being trusted and this was it. "The men have spoken highly of you, especially after your sparring sessions with them." Was she really that good at fighting? Given how well-trained the core members are, she could only take this as a huge compliment and assume that she really was a good fighter. Being allowed to go on patrol with them meant that she could rebuild her credibility as a warrior again. She was known for being ruthless with rogue samurai, but compassionate and considerate with the civilians and that was how she intended to remain. The rogue samurai would often mug civilians, using their samurai status to get away with it, even though that was breaking the rules of the samurai. She did not feel they were fit to keep the title of "warrior" because mugging the innocent and contributing to the evil in the world was not part of warrior spirit.

"Thank you so much, Hijikata. I will not let you down." She lilted in return.

"I don't imagine you will. There is another matter we must discuss. Come with me, we'll be meeting with the other men because this concerns them too." She didn't ask questions, she just placed her broom aside and followed him. They didn't say a word on the way, he just guided her into the room and they took their designated places. What could this have been about? "Thank you all for joining us. We have reason to believe that some rogue samurai have been plotting raids on businesses and surrounding dojos." That caught Kachi's attention. It was unlikely, but they could be the same samurai that raided and destroyed her family's dojo two years ago, or part of the same group, at least. "They congregate in an inn. It'd be too high profile if we sent in a spy, so Kachi will have to pose as a geisha and eavesdrop on them." Her eyes widened. She was already being trusted with a huge task, and so soon, too.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, she hasn't been here for that long and we're already throwing her in the deep end, here." Harada spoke up with evident concern for her well-being.

"I know that, but it'd be far too risky to send in a spy."

"But we're putting her in danger." Heisuke spoke up. They obviously didn't want to risk losing their new comrade so soon.

"I'll be okay. I've already proved that I can hold my own and I want to do whatever I can to prove myself useful to you. Besides, I had to train and work as a geisha when I was growing up to help fund my family's dojo. I know what to do." They all looked surprised, but Hijikata was relieved to know that was unlikely to mess everything up.

"Yamazaki and I will accompany her as protection." Saitou spoke up.

"Hey, why do they get to go and we don't?" Shinpachi protested, probably because he wanted to see Kachi as a geisha. She always got a lot of attention from men for her appearance; despite her dressing in typical male attire of the late Edo era, men were still drawn to her because of her beauty.

"Because unlike you, Yamazaki and Saitou will not become distracted." Even Kachi knew that just because they weren't going to be her protection, it didn't mean they weren't going to show up just to get a glimpse of her dressed as a geisha rather than a warrior. Hijikata turned his gaze to Kachi. "We know a geisha that works there who will help you get ready and direct you to the correct room. All you must do is serve their drinks and listen to their conversation. When you have gathered all the information you need, find an excuse to leave. We're counting on you, Kachi." She nodded in response.

"I can't believe I'm going to miss Kachi as a geisha. I mean, she's already pretty, but imagine her as a geisha." Souji's thoughts were wandering, as were the thoughts of the men everybody knew would be distracted. Saitou and Yamazaki took that as their cue to guide Kachi out of the building and into the capital.

The geisha based in the inn helped her get ready in typical geisha attire. Her hair that was normally tied up in a long ponytail was in a neat _ofuku_ hairstyle, her face had been whitened, her lips had been rouged and her lids had been covered with a red shadow. She had forgotten what it was like to wear these sandals with high platforms and she wasn't fond of remembering. The geisha was putting the remaining touches on her when Harada entered the room, stopping in his tracks after catching sight of her. The men that allowed themselves to be distracted by the appearance of a woman had all made it apparent that they were captivated by her natural beauty when in her male attire, Harada included, but his breath had been taken away by the appearance of her in geisha attire. The geisha looked at Harada before leaving the room, leaving the pair alone. Kachi turned to him and let out a quiet chuckle at his dumbfounded expression, and the pink that spread across his cheeks.

"I'll go get you some sake." She said before she left the room to prepare the sake. He took his place, still in shock at her appearance. How could such a beautiful woman wish to be a warrior? When a man laid his eyes on her, they would never imagine her true strength or her skill with a sword; her beauty was captivating and delicate, but when she was sparring, she was strong and spared no one. The delicate beauty soon returned with freshly prepared sake and took her place opposite Harada; she poured him a drink and watched his expression go unchanged. "You look so shocked; do I look that bad?"

"N-no! I mean…no, of course not." How could she ask such a thing? It was obvious that she was a rare beauty that you could search across all of Japan for and never find. "You're a very beautiful woman when you're in your warrior gear, but as a geisha, you're a beautiful rare gem. I'm almost jealous that those rogues get to spend time with you like this." She chuckled and shook her head.

"Hijikata gave the OK for you to all come here and drink since you're all so desperate to spend time with me while I'm a geisha. I'll be able to spend time with you all when I've gotten all the information I need." She poured him another drink, amused at how flustered he seemed to be. He had gotten used to seeing her without any paint on her face and in male attire, so seeing her dressed the way she was, was too much of a culture shock for him.

"Well, that's good. It'd be a shame if we had to miss you looking like this." Harada was known for being a lady killer; geishas were extra friendly with him when he went out drinking, unlike Shinpachi, whom experienced the opposite. His charming comments were non-too surprising, given his reputation with women.

"I should leave now; those men are probably here. I'll meet you and the others later." She bowed and took her leave; she was never one to stick around for farewells and luck wishing except, maybe, before a battle. She fetched some fresh sake and arrived at the room the rogue samurai were based in. Upon entering, she was already being called over by one of the soldiers; as it was her duty as a geisha to fulfil the needs of her guests, she obeyed and served him his drink. It was obvious that they had been drinking beforehand; they were all flushed and their words were slurring. Well, it was either that or they couldn't handle their alcohol at all. The men were all loud and incredibly obnoxious, but that was to be expected from drunken, arrogant men that considered themselves to be warriors when they were far from it. She kept her comments of distaste to herself and continued to quietly pour one of the "warriors" his sake, listening out and hoping that they would discuss their plans to attack the Shinsengumi soon, so she could get herself out of there.

"And another thing, those Shinsengumi dogs have no right to say we're not warriors." One of them slurred, clearly having trouble keeping himself sat up straight. "When are we going to get those dogs out the way? I'm tired of them acting like they're real samurai." The drunken, toddler-like man continued, spilling his sake as he moved around.

"Relax, we'll do it in the next two days. If we attack at night while everyone's asleep, they'll be at their weakest." Another one slurred. It was incredible how honest they would become after ingesting alcohol; they didn't give a second thought to the women in the room that were able to hear their plans to attack the Shinsengumi headquarters. "They have patrol groups, so we should attack from the back. They won't know what hit 'em!" He laughed loudly, spilling some of his drink on himself. That was all the information she needed. She looked at the bottles and noticed they were empty – a perfect excuse to leave the room.

"Looks like you've ran out of sake, I'll go prepare you some more." She placed the bottles on the tray whilst being watched by the man whom she was serving. Was he suspicious of her? Was he actually smart enough to realise that she was spying on him? She doubted it, but she couldn't let her guard down. She took the tray and quickly left the room to go prepare more sake. It was unnerving that she was being watched so intently by the man she was serving, but she could defend herself perfectly fine. Still, it was better if she didn't let her guard down or boost her own ego too much otherwise she could find herself paying for it. While she prepared sake to take to the Shinsengumi members, she kept a wary eye out. She wasn't being followed by that rogue, but she was being watched from afar by a man with light coloured hair. Was he foreign? He didn't appear to be a European, but his hair colour was only ever seen on foreigners, not Japanese people. Maybe he was half foreign? It was possible – there were plenty of mixed race people around that were living in Japan because they looked more Japanese than European. She took the alcohol after it had been prepared and went in search for the Shinsengumi members, glancing over her shoulder to see if that strange man that was watching her from a distance was following her. Fortunately, he was not following her and she was able to arrive at the room they were in safely. She opened the door and let herself in before turning her attention to the men in the room. All but a couple were in obvious awe at her beauty. She wrinkled her nose and took a place next to Hijikata, the safest one of the bunch to be around.

"See, I told you guys she looked great as a geisha." Harada boasted because he had seen her before the others.

"No fair, you got to see her first!" Heisuke whined. She shook her head at them and poured Hijikata a drink.

"Hard to believe that someone _this_ beautiful is a trained samurai." Souji commented sleazily with a flushed face to indicate that he had drank a fair amount of alcohol already. "Man, whoever she falls in love with is going to be one lucky guy." That comment made her blush slightly, but her face had been powdered white, so the pink that was in her cheeks was well hidden. "Hijikata, Saitou, how do you two not care?"

"Because her appearance is not relevant to her purpose for being here." Saitou said bluntly in his usual quiet tone. She had observed that Saitou was a very quiet man that only spoke when he deemed it necessary or when he was spoken to, but according to the other men, he was capable of being talkative when he was able to discuss swords. He willingly chose swords over women because they were his passion and his passion showed when he sparred with people. He was quick with his sword and no one stood a chance against him. "Now, tell us, Kachi, what did you find out?"

"They plan on attacking over the next couple of days during the night when you're at your most vulnerable. They plan on taking the back way, but it's better if we keep all exits and entrances guarded in case they realise what we're doing." Saitou nodded once and resumed drinking his sake. "Do any of you know of a man with light coloured hair?" The strange man that was watching her was starting to get to her, so she needed to find answers.

"Yes. Did he have red eyes?" Hijikata responded calmly. She thought for a moment, picturing the man in her mind.

"Coming to think of it, yeah…he did have red eyes. Do you know him?"

"That man was Chikage Kazama." Saitou chimed back in. "He is a dangerous man. Why did you ask?" All eyes were on Kachi, staring expectantly.

"Well, when I left the room of rogues to get sake, I saw him watching me from afar. It didn't seem like he was following me, but I kept checking to make sure." The Shinsengumi members all exchanged glances at each other. Did this mean something? She had no idea – she just thought he was some creep that was sizing her up. Although, he didn't appear to be the type to go creeping on the geishas in the building.

"We don't know if this means anything," Hijikata began; "but it's better if you be on your guard and don't go anywhere alone. We know you can defend yourself, but he is a very skilled and very strong warrior that you must stay wary of. Do I make myself clear?" His expression was even more serious than usual and his tone was far more stern, but there was a small hint of genuine concern for her safety. Maybe Hijikata wasn't such an emotionless hardhead after all.

"Yes, I understand." She poured him another drink.

"Anyway, we were in the middle of talking about how good Kachi looks as a geisha!" Shinpachi exclaimed, wanting to add in his two cents to the previous topic of conversation. "Why don't you dress like this at dinner time or something? It'd make it so much more interesting." Men seemed so simple to her; easily seduced by a pretty face. But then, there was Hijikata and Saitou, both going unmoved by her change in appearance. Hijikata was a good looking man, so he was probably used to the company of attractive women – Saitou, on the other hand, was reasonably good looking, but he didn't seem approachable…when she came to think about it, though, she remembered that he willingly chose swords over women.

"If I dressed like a geisha every day for dinner, it would lose its appeal, so it is better that you only see me dressed like this once in a blue moon." She replied, pouring the vice commander another drink. "Besides, it takes too long to get ready. I'll take wearing typical female attire over dressing in full geisha."

"Then can you dress as a woman!?" Shinpachi seemed awfully desperate for her to be feminine, as the others that were taking an interest in her were. She laughed.

"I dress as a man for convenience. It is less restrictive in combat than that of women's clothes. I'd have to prevent you all from seeing too much as a fight and that's far too inconvenient for me." They couldn't argue with that. As much as they wouldn't mind seeing "too much", she'd have their heads on a pike outside the headquarters if they did.

"I'm sure Kachi would prefer you to see her more as a warrior and less as a tool for your own enjoyment." Saitou commented, calmly sipping his alcohol. All eyes landed on him in surprise. "You all forget that while she may be an attractive woman, she is still a strong warrior."

"So you admit that she's attractive?" Harada retorted. Hajime looked flustered for a brief moment before regaining his regular composure. How calm and quiet he was made him a very intimidating figure.

"It's a matter of opinion. By most people's standards, yes, she is an attractive woman." He always had a way with words that would weasel himself out of a situation; if there was ever a lie that needed to be told, he was the man that all of the soldiers would turn to. He went back to sipping his sake calmly while Harada appeared frustrated at his answer.

"That's not a real answer!" He yelled angrily.

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not!"

"It is a perfectly appropriate answer."

Her and the other men laughed to themselves at the exchange. She enjoyed spending time with the core members – they were friendly and loyal to each other, and that was what she needed from a group of people that she was going to find herself surrounded by until her dying day. She had no plans of ever abandoning the Shinsengumi, not even if her life depended on it.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed; they managed to exterminate the rogue samurai that raided the headquarters and things went back to being relatively quiet, but there was one thing that kept bothering her: she kept seeing Kazama all over Kyoto, still watching her intently. His behaviour was getting extremely worrying and she felt unsafe, even when with other people. Did he want something from her? She didn't know, but she needed to find out. The biggest problem she had was that no one would let her go anywhere alone and if she ever attempted to approach Kazama, they would either follow her or stop her completely. It was repeated constantly by Saitou that Kazama was a strong and dangerous warrior, but she didn't want to let that faze her – all she wanted was answers. She couldn't let her mind wonder too much about the mysterious man with the honey coloured hair, she had to make breakfast for the core members. They weren't a rich bunch of warriors, especially since they spend most of the money on sake when they're allowed to, so they spent most of the time eating vegetables, rice and fish. Miso soup was a common dish found in their meals and of course, not everyone was happy with that, but they didn't have too much choice about what they could eat, so no one complained. Everyone's breakfast was served with green tea – known for being a healthy tea and a good way of waking everybody up properly. Most of the men arrived to breakfast half asleep and more than willing to sleep wherever they were sat.

"Where's Souji?" Hijikata asked while Kachi was laying out everyone's food. Judging from the lack of response, he was probably still asleep. "Kachi, go wake up Souji." She quickly obeyed and ran off to where Souji was sleeping. She knelt down in front of the door and listened out for any noise that indicated that he was awake…none.

"Souji, are you awake? I'm opening the door." She waited for some sort of response, but there was none, so she opened the door. Sure enough, there was Souji, asleep comfortably and cuddling the blanket rather than using it to cover himself. She glared at the sleeping Okita briefly before getting up and walking towards him. As comfortable as he looked, he had to get up, so without much hesitation, she kicked him, causing him to yelp and sit up. "It's time for breakfast. If you don't go now, everyone else will eat your food." He scowled and dragged himself up, his eyes still half shut and the blanket still in his arms.

"I'll be there in a minute." Well, if he fell asleep again and missed out his food because Shinpachi got hold of it, it would be his own fault, that was for sure. She shrugged and left him to it, closing the door behind her and returning to the others. One thing she knew for certain was that she wasn't going to go make more food or tea if his food got stolen by everybody else. While she ate her breakfast quietly, Shinpachi and Heisuke were fighting, as always, because Shinpachi stole something off of poor Heisuke's tray. This fighting was something she had grown used to very quickly – it happened during every single meal and it solved the mystery of how Hijikata was so patient. She'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the interactions, though; she had seen many soldiers come into a group of warriors and never make a single bond with any of the group members, and that put them at a disadvantage on the battle field. Amidst all the fighting, Sannan, a man whom had been spending most of his time doing research than going out on the frontline, got some words in to Kachi.

"I want you to join Saitou on patrol this morning, Kachi. We know that you've been having some uncomfortable encounters with Chikage Kazama and with Saitou at your side, you're certain to feel much safer." Sannan was a very sweet individual that cared very much for the people around him and he would do anything to keep himself from being any trouble to anybody. He gave her a reassuring smile that, coupled with how soft-spoken he was, made her feel comforted. But there was a problem with her being monitored all the time by everyone: she wanted to confront Kazama and get answers, but she was unable to because every time she attempted to sneak away to approach him, she was pulled back. Sure, it was nice that they were keeping her safe, but she was infuriated that she couldn't find out why exactly she was of interest to this Kazama guy. Was he one of her old soldiers? No, she'd remember someone with light hair and red eyes. She had never seen him before until that night in the inn, so it was certain that they didn't know each other. Who was Kazama and what did he want from her? That was, unfortunately, a question that she was unable to answer. Heisuke broke in, causing her train of thought to derail.

"Wait, so Kachi's not coming with me on patrol today!?" He whined loudly, still in the midst of fighting with Shinpachi over his food. He got along well with Kachi and patrol was an opportunity to talk to her with a lesser chance of being picked on by Souji, Harada or Shinpachi – he felt emasculated when they picked on him. "That's not fair!" He continued to whine while he attempted to push Shinpachi away.

"She has already been on patrol with you, Heisuke. It's Saitou's turn, now." There was a huff before the boy went back to concentrating on fighting for his breakfast. Before long, Souji entered the room, relieved to find that his food was all still there.

"Sorry, what did I miss?" He inquired as he took his place and began to eat his food.

"Kachi's going on patrol with Saitou today." Sannan replied. For some reason, it was far more important than what it actually was for them to know who she was going on patrol with; it wasn't because they really needed to know where she was as a matter of caution, it was because they really wanted her to join them on patrol. It was amusing to her, but for Hijikata, it was a strain on his patience because of their unending whining. Soon, Saitou finished his breakfast and stood up.

"If you are not ready quickly, I will leave you behind." He said plainly, obviously addressing Kachi. As he left the building, she scrambled to finish her food.

"We will take care of the cleaning, so don't worry too much about that. Just hurry up and get ready." Sannan was far too kind. She nodded in thanks and quickly left to suit herself up properly. She equipped herself with her weapons and any other necessities that she felt like she needed, and caught Saitou before he took his team on patrol.

"It'd be safer for you to remain near me." He stated quietly as he started to lead her and the team into the city. Kyoto was a wonderful looking city, but it wasn't without its troubles: thieves, con artists and thugs roamed around looking for fights and anyone that seemed vulnerable enough for them to rob. With all that aside, Kyoto was a city of tradesmen that brought items from anywhere they could and that made people from outside of the city's walls flock there. While they wandered around on their usual route for patrol, she kept a sharp out for Kazama. He was always around whenever she was and it made her think that she was being watched more than she realised. Sure enough, by one of the stands, there was Kazama, watching her again, but that didn't go unnoticed by Saitou. "I was instructed to keep you safe, but not to prevent you from interacting with Kazama. If you wish to speak with him, I must come with you." It seemed that the other men saw keeping her away from Kazama and keeping her safe as the same thing, but Saitou didn't let those lines blur. She looked at Saitou and then back to Kazama before nodding once.

"Hijikata told me to avoid him, so I will do so. If I want to talk to him, I will do it so it is only at my expense and not yours." She resumed watching everybody else carefully, surprising Hajime slightly. He had expected her to take the first chance she got to go speak to him and find out what his intentions were, but she was considering the fact that he would get into a lot of trouble if anything happened to her whilst under his protection. "Besides, if he knows where I'm going to be at any given time, he's clearly watching me far more than we realise. If he wanted confrontation, he can confront me when he's watching me without my knowledge." She definitely had a point; this wasn't her patrol time slot, but he still managed to find her. They left the subject matter at that for the time being because their patrol had finally gotten interesting. A few rogue samurai had taken it in their stride to attempt to mug a civilian and this was an opportunity for Kachi to prove her worth properly. Before Saitou could claim the responsibility, she had already made her way over to the rogues and the civilians in question. While the other men in the team wanted to stop her, their captain was curious and made them observe with him.

"What do you want, kid?" One of the thugs sneered at her while holding a child at sword point.

"I'm giving you a chance to save your own skin. Give the money back and let them go." She warned and the men laughed. A natural reaction from rogues that thought far too highly of themselves.

"Look, sweetheart. Why don't you stick to taking care of your kids and cooking?" Well, she gave him a warning and he ignored her. She kicked the sword out of the man's hand and drew her own sword, holding the point to his throat. The children and the man watched in fear while the other men exchanged glances.

"Now, will you give back the money?" They still refused to return the money. "Alright then." She disarmed the other two men, knocking their swords out of their hands, watching them as they pierced the ground a few feet away. "How can you wear the title of "samurai" when you draw your swords on innocent civilians and steal from them?" The men were obviously scared of her, but instead of showing it, they kept up their "tough" image that they seemed to wear like a badge of honour.

"We're not taking orders from a kid, especially not a little girl." She rolled her eyes and delivered a punch to his chest before taking the bag of money from his hand, handing it back to the innocent civilians that were now huddled together in fear.

"I know better than to use my sword in the presence of children. Now, take your swords and run along before I change my mind about letting you go intact." Two out of the three were ready to leave, but one remained stubborn. He had rightfully stolen that money from those people and he was not willing to give up his position, especially to a woman.

"Who do you think you are? Coming here and acting like a hero. You're nothing but a little girl. You should be at home, taking care of the house." Poor, simple, one-track-minded men that really believed women were weaker and lesser than them. He went and picked up his sword before aiming it toward her. He launched at her, bringing his sword down from above, but his move was easily blocked by her. She found it a pity that people just couldn't take a warning and had to insist on humiliating themselves in front of most of the capital and people from outside the capital. He attempted another swing, but she used the handle of her sword to hit his chest, causing him to fall back and for the breath to be knocked out of him.

"No real samurai should be murdering people in front of innocent people, especially children. Now, let them be and if I ever see you and there's nobody around, I will not hesitate to remove your head from your shoulders." Saitou couldn't lie, Kachi was an intimidating woman when provoked. She stared at the rogues with a glare, and her tone of voice had changed from her typical cheerful or monotone voice to sound deeper and much scarier. Don't get on Kachi Sato's bad side – dually noted. The message hit home for the men, so they quickly picked up their weapons and left. She put her sword away and turned to the innocent people that were still huddled together, shaking. Some of their fear went away after she gave them a reassuring smile. "Make sure you carry something to defend yourself with because this won't be the last time that this happens. Enjoy the rest of your day." Her tone of voice had returned to her usual, cheerful tone. The small family all bowed and hurried away, clearly still shook up from the event. The surrounding crowd and the patrolling soldiers were all largely impressed with her courage and her warrior spirit. The pleasant surprise was something she lived for when she was a commander - the satisfaction of seeing the crowd around her start to have faith in the modern day women. Saitou approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder, looking at her with a slight smile. A smile from Hajime was a rare sight, even for his closest friends and because of that, she felt much prouder of her bravery than before; his face rarely changed from a straight expression and if it did, he was normally scowling at somebody, usually Souji.

"I am glad that you didn't need assistance." He said, guiding her and the men in the team away. "I'll inform Hijikata of what happened today. He'll be pleased that you've been useful during a patrol." Slightly backhanded, but she took it anyway. She was pleased that she could prove herself to be useful to the Shinsengumi; she had already proven her worth as a swordsman, but using her sword in a real situation was a different matter.

Soon, their patrol time had come to an end and they had arrived back at headquarters; while the other soldiers went to relax for a little bit, Hajime lead Kachi to Hijikata's room, where he was focusing on his work. Saitou wasted no time in simply opening the door without any warning, causing Hijikata to turn to the pair with an intense glare.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd remember your manners, Saitou." His glares and stern tone went ignored as Saitou took his place and Kachi went next to him. "What do you two want?" He stopped his work and turned to face them – even if they were rude, he could still uphold his own manners.

"Kachi split up a violent encounter between some rogue samurai and civilians." Needless to say, the vice commander was surprised to hear the news – she was much braver than he had originally thought. "The rogues were scared away rather than killed. She didn't wish to traumatise the families that were around." It takes a lot of gall to take on a rogue, but even more to let them go (mostly) unharmed, so it went without saying that he was incredibly impressed.

"Impressive, but don't let it go to your head, Kachi. Keep your guard up, they may return and if they recognise you, they'll more than likely attack." Good old vice commander Hijikata, keeping everybody grounded and on their toes so they didn't do anything stupid. Even though he never felt like he'd be fit to be a leader, he was still the head on the body that was the Shinsengumi – a body can lose some limbs, but without its head, it dies. He kept everybody in check and the morale up; without him, the majority of the soldiers would have left to be elsewhere. "Now, if have nothing else to tell me, you may leave." There wasn't another word exchanged, everyone simply parted ways and the pair went to their own rooms. Maybe she should have mentioned that she saw Kazama again, maybe Hijikata knew something more about the mysterious light haired man. But then again, if he did, he would have brought it up. Being clueless about a guy that just appeared to spend his time watching her was extremely unsettling for her. As she settled in her room to write a daily account of what happened during the day, she suddenly felt a presence in the room. No one had opened the door and there was no one behind her when she went in. Was it just Souji playing a prank? No, he would have been caught before he got the chance to put his plan into action and his pranking skills certainly hadn't gotten any better since the last time he tried to pull a prank on her. She paused and looked around…nobody. But the feeling of a presence in the room didn't leave her. What was going on? There was nowhere for somebody to hide, so why was she feeling like this? Then, the realisation hit her. Was this Kazama watching her? Was this how he knew exactly where she would be and when?

"I know you're there, Chikage Kazama." She uttered into the seemingly empty room, keeping her gaze focused on the wall in front of her. She suddenly felt the presence hone in on a location: behind her.

"I thought you'd never notice."


End file.
